The Wildwood it's not this quiet

It was rare for the tawny beast to put with the company of those who did not belong to his pack, and yet here he was, escorting a she-wolf out of the land that had once been his home and listening to the light banter that went back and forth between the two. Mostly, he was hoping to aggravate her further, but his companion had already seemingly caught on to this game. “I figured fat cow was impressive for a rock,” he returned shortly, his eyes scanning the forest between them. It was eerily quiet at the moment, and his russet ears preened forward as he attempted to gauge why. “And I’m not sure about your pack, but the attempt of a hunt with the intention to feed the pack is praised, successful or not. Just as bad intention would be equally as frowned upon.”

They continued, though she still decided that not only did ladies fall at his paws, that he must be extremely gallant as well. “I’m gallant, am I? What makes you think I’m not leading you somewhere further in to the forest so I can get rid of you?” It was a very dark play on words, but finally, the male cast a glance back to her and gave a shrug of his shoulders, a ghost of a smirk playing at the corner of his tainted lips.

It seemed as if walking along through this forest, which became less and less scarred by fire, the air became much calmer. Now convinced that there was something poisonous in the atmosphere of that dead place, Ozera vowed silently never to return with out a very, very good reason. This part of the woods was fine, though, even if parts of it had not escaped the fire. But the ambiance was light, almost playful now. At least, that was how she saw it, who knew about Ruiko. Maybe he regretted accompanying her, now. "Touché, although I guess you're admitting you're a rock now?" So far though, this was as close as he had gotten to humorous. It was refreshing, except for the fact Ozera now became aware that everything was strangely hushed in this part of the timberland.

Ozera was grateful that Ruiko continued to speak. He did have a point. "I don't see why you'd be praised for coming back with nothing but an empty mouthful. That makes little sense." However, Ozera had not hunted for a pack in many, many years, and since she only relied on herself, she never felt the need to praise anything. No one comforted her when she came back from an unsuccessful hunt, so maybe that's why she thought it was a strange idea. As bubbly and amiable as Ozera was, there were some niceties she just didn't understand.

Wait. Was that actually something like a smile? Ozera gawked, unsure. It threw her off kilter, so much so that she practically disregarded what he had said. "I trust you," she replied simply, then adding, "As scary as I find you, I don't think you would hurt me. You've had plenty of time to, but instead you're walking me home. I'd say that's a more gentlemanly favor than I deserve for disturbing you, and arguing incessantly, wouldn't you agree?"

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:47 AM by Desdemona.)

The tawny wolf was slightly surprised at her words regarding pack hunts, and blinked as he cast a quick glance of his bright amber eyes to her. “And I thought we decided I was the cold one here,” he mused dryly, slightly taken aback by her response. “I suppose it’s a matter of opinion, but if my members at least try to contribute to their pack mates I’m content.” Though, pack life as he knew was very different amongst others, and perhaps there were packs who wanted none but the most skilled and strongest to survive. It made him wonder of her own background.

If he noticed her stunned expression over his final breakdown of a stoical mask, the male completely ignored it. Instead, his ears flickered at her comment, bemused at the idea that she trusted him. “Scary how?” There was a pause, and then his bemusement flickered briefly on his features before he gave a shrug. “You could say it’s much more than what I usually do for others,” he amended, though he was slightly distracted now. The closer they came to the edge of the woods, the quiet the forest seemed to become.. and as the wind shifted, Ruiko’s muzzle lifted; the coppery scent of blood was clear upon the wind, and a light scowl crossed his features.

It was almost as if anything Ruiko said now was funny to her. Her sense of humor had developed to include nearly everything, beyond now, a spectrum so varied that if she were to watch a squirrel scamper up a tree, she would laugh. Just laugh and laugh and laugh. "That's because you are the cold one" That was mostly a joke. Maybe. "But apologies don't feed anyone. I'm sure that if you started watching pack members die of starvation, you wouldn't be so forgiving of those who failed to get food." Surely, Ruiko's patience would run out much easier than the average wolf... and or rock. "Not that that's happened to me. Merely hypothetical."

She continued to catch little wisps of emotion on his features before dismissive shoulders would chase them away. Ozera wished those shoulders would just lie flat, and let the feelings stay. "Because, a wolf that I can't understand is a wolf I can't predict. And predictability lends itself to safety I guess you...." The rest of her words tapered off into quiet mumbles as she noticed that Ruiko was... Is that a scowl? But he was smelling something, wasn't he? She followed his suit, drinking in the eerily hushed forest with her nose."Blood? Ruiko..." She didn't know why she was whispering now. "Ruiko, why do I smell blood?"

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:49 AM by Desdemona.)

“Well, they wouldn’t die of starvation because they have me.” He had thought that much had been obvious, and his tone became a little lighter than it had been moments before. It was a situation he didn’t worry about – every member of Swift River was capable, including the pups who were now nearing the age of entering the adult ranks. The pack was now working together to ensure they gained the skills they needed to help their pack mates and family.. It was a time of stress, and excitement for them all.

As Ozera mentioned predictability, the male listened to her reasons idly. “I’m going to use you as an example against that theory. You ranged from a wide variety of emotions – sad, upset, angry, and now almost amused. None of them were ever predictable.” There was a pause and Ruiko held back a snort of amusement. “In fact, you’re the farthest thing from predictable that I can think of.”

Her tone had become hushed now, and he knew she could smell it too. He blinked, his eyes scanning the land before them in uncertainty as one fang bared in warning. Naturally, the male stepped back a pace in front of his companion, as if shielding her from whatever might have been lurking nearby. Likely it was simply a fresh kill by a predator.. but it unsettled him that the forest was far quiet than he ever remembered. His pride told him to explore the reason, find what creature had rendered the woods to silence. Logic told him to leave. He shook his muzzle at her question, turning around to give the female a nudge in a new direction now. “We’re going to go this way,” he decided, now sticking closer to her lest something happened.

Well, that's pretty arrogant of you. Ozera, with her vivid imagination, could think of many situations in which this glorious fellow would be of no help. What if all the prey was dying off because of a poisoned water source? What if it all just disappeared. Unless Ruiko was magical, she highly doubted that he would be able to overcome obstacles just by sheer, arrogant will power. If he was not magical, then, well, that was not how the world worked. She wondered, if this place ever came to such a tragedy as that, would he survive, would he serve his pack well? It wasn't a question of leadership, since, for as much as Ozera knew, he could be just a subordinate. She hadn't given it much thought.

"Touché, Ruiko, Touché," she said, trying to sound a bit braver. The stench of blood clung to her nose, and was really freaking her out. Ozera wanted to keep talking, though, just to keep the blood flowing, to make this place more lively. "But I can predict myself just fine. You probably don't give a damn about predicting my next move. On the other hand, I very much like knowing what others will do." Like telling her to turn around. She had definitely not seen that coming.

Her forepaw fell back to the ground, and her legs locked. "No." She may be scared, but she was a curious soul at heart, and this ominous silence was eating away at her. "I want to know what's going on. Please, let's go look." Her dull, yellow eyes sought his, staring at him with something between defiance and plaintiveness. "I need to know."

(This post was last modified: Feb 07, 2011, 03:30 AM by Ozera.)

There were truth in her words; he really didn’t give a damn about predicting her next move. And likely, after their brief interlude was done with, he would barely give the she-wolf a second thought if only because his life revolved about his pack and family. He simply didn’t have enough time to worry or dwell on members from other packs, not when there were two youths that needed to be taught the ways of the Swift River pack, a family who was still half missing, and a brother who was very eager to take control of the pack.

Just as the male had begun to gently nudge Ozera in a new direction, the she-wolf’s limbs locked in place and Ruiko almost plowed in to her. The action elicited a light snarl from his throat as his fangs bared in confusion to her movement. She sought his gaze, her question spoken with vague curiosity and pleading. Ruiko grunted in response, his will only withstanding for so long before he released a sigh, finally giving her a nod. “Fine,” he replied, his large figure twisting suddenly and beginning to prowl in the direction where the blood scent was seemingly coming from.

(This post was last modified: Feb 07, 2011, 02:40 PM by Ruiko.)

Ruiko's snarl nearly startled her to death, and she jumped back, the smell of her own fear rapping itself around her. But apparently, he had just been caught off guard by her sudden halt, and she forgave him readily enough. However, what Ozera had found most staggering was the sudden contact with the massive, brindled dun wolf. It had been awhile since she had had contact with real wolves, since she hardly counted Kauda or Triell. They were only pups. It was weird though, very weird. Ozera was deeply unsure of how she felt about it. Oh whatever, she shrugged inwardly, casting the thought over her shoulder. You're wasting time. Follow him!

Now that she had become aware that she was standing by herself in this hostile place, she crashed through the forest after Ruiko, not bothering to ask for him to slow down. Like he would anyway. When his broad figure was visible again, she quickened her pace until she was at his shoulder. That was probably the safest place to be, right?

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:53 AM by Desdemona.)

Ruiko felt the she-wolf come up to his side, though he was silent now as he prowled the woods that had once been his home. The stench of blood became thicker as they wove through the trees.. and accompanying the coppery scent of blood was the scent of death. The tawny beast was not intrigued by what it could be, but he was certainly aggravated. What had dared defile this land more than it already was?

Sparse bits of the sun poked through the crowded branches of the woods, gleaming a light to lead their way. To explore something so unknown and vile, the tawny wolf would have much rather had his brother at his side, rather than the girl who he still believed to be an enigma... And who likely still believed him to be a rock, which explained why she was partly hiding at his shoulder despite being the one who demanded they come in to explore what it could be.

Time seemed to stretch on, but Ruiko’s senses led them to a clearing he and Indru had frequented quite a bit when growing up. There, in the center upon a large and smooth rock, was a lump of fur. Ruiko’s ivories bared at the sight before his eyes quickly darted around the clearing. Whoever had done this was gone it seemed.. but that did not soothe him. Prowling ahead of Ozera, the tawny wolf rounded the smooth boulder, his eyes trained upon the figure that lay draped to rest upon it, noting the stains of blood that pooled upon the white of the ground. Only then did he realize it was two, and they were not wolf but coyote. A low growl of relief seeped past his lips at this realization, for fear of his wandering siblings had clenched heavily at his heart in those few moments of unknowing.

ooc - kinda assumed the bodies weren't like all nommed up, since that would have made them hard to identify? idunno.

It got stronger, the stench, until it was nearly overpowering. The metallic scent harassed her jaws mercilessly, and she grew more tense with every gained paw-step. Her anxiety reached all time highs extended endlessly forward into this bleak forest, and she felt as if she were walking into an abyss. Or perhaps her doom. Slowly, her imagination was beginning to run away with her thoughts, and placing omens on the path and monsters behind the trunks of burned trees and demons in the shadows of undergrowth. She wished Ruiko would say something, anything. Talking would calm her down. But he was a wolf of lexical sparsity, and whenever she thought of opening her mouth, she realized there was nothing more to be said. So she kept her trap shut and tried to put a lid on her nerves.

Finally, after what felt like years mingled with terror and hunted by portentous fantasies, they arrived at a clearing. There was a peculiar, worn stone in the middle, where she noticed a body lying. Her heart pounded with something between excitement and overwhelming horror. Ruiko barely hesitated before going to examined it, which made her wonder if he was familiar with this place. He had lived here once, after all. Swallowing her heightened apprehension, she trailed after Ruiko.

They weren't wolves, the two bodies. That's good. Ozera wouldn't have known what to do or think if the corpses had belonged to wolves. Maybe scream, maybe try and bury herself in Ruiko. "...Coyotes," she still did not dare raise her voice. "What do you think could have... done this? To kill just for...for... waste. Didn't even eat them." Imagination took over once more, picturing monsters taller than tree's with bloodlust and hatred. "Ruiko, I'm scared."

(This post was last modified: Nov 12, 2014, 04:55 AM by Desdemona.)